This was hard to watch, but fascinating: Emily Maitlis appears not to understand what Taleb is saying. The other two guests, both economists, trot out excuses for why they missed the current crisis and happily make predictions about what will happen to a complex and uncertain crisis. Meanwhile Taleb infuriates everyone in the studio by refusing to make predictions and banging on with his core argument: why the experts didn't and don't understand risk and should not be allowed to carry on using their discredited risk management models.

There is, I suggest, another lesson to be taken from Taleb's performance. Sure, he has right on his side. Certainly the economists are guilty of hypocrisy. And ofÂ course Emily Maitlis is a poor presenter. But Taleb could have made his own case more effectively by remaining calm. He did not explainÂ his argument well and in that sense he missed an opportunity.Â Anger very rarely worksÂ in live broadcasting. It generates more heat than light. Â

I saw him speak at the Hay Festival this year, and he makes huge assumptions about what people know about his work. None of my friends understood a word, and I, having read his book, could barely keep up either.

It seems like his patience has run out for the ignorant fools he obviously takes a lot of people to be.